West Lake
by readbooksblowbubbles
Summary: Annabeth Chase is going to West Lake College in NY, along with her best friend Thalia. She meets many people from her past, including a certain blonde boy and green-eyed guy. What drama is the gang in store for? Find out now! Rated T for some vulgar language and suggestive themes. I don't own PJATO; Rick Riordan does. AU/OOC.
1. New Girl

_I don't own PJO. OOC and AU. Rated T for language. No gods. Some of the ages and information of the characters are different. Families, friends, etc are also slightly different (and maybe OOC)…but enjoy! My first fanfic. (: First few chapters will be the "pre-story" story._

**Annabeth's POV**

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked pretty good, but I missed my old hair. Whatever, I thought. It's just hair. I straightened my newly dyed brown hair, applied blue eyeliner and I opened my closet door to pick out an outfit; I need to make an impression today. I settled on a pair of yellow jeans and a cropped tee with an owl printed on the front. Not bad. If I do say so myself, I look pretty hot. I could pass your typical Californian girl, but I had grey eyes instead of blue. I grabbed my grey sweater and made my way downstairs.

My stepmom was making eggs and out of the corner of my eye, I spied my dad making his way over to the cookie jar; I laughed silently. "Annabeth, that shirt is looking a bit short," said Helen, my stepmother. My dad remarried a few years back and Helen was a little cold at first, but she is super fun now. My biological mother, Amy (her real name is actually Athena) lives in San Francisco and runs her own architectural design company. I love architecture as well. I find designing and building very interesting and time-consuming as well (but in a good way, of course.) "Helen, I have a sweater," I replied, then muttered "that I'm not going to wear," under my breath. She turned around to take a glance at my sweater, then decided that is was suitable. "Fine, fine. Just don't dress too...showy for school," she called from the kitchen.

We had just settled into our apartment, and so far, everything was going great. Yesterday, we met a few neighbors and my twin brothers made some friends that were also in the third grade. I also found out that my best friend's cousin, Percy, lives one floor above us. It's pretty weird moving to Manhattan after spending my entire life in California.

I grabbed the cereal before my brothers could take it and poured some milk inside my bowl. Matthew and Bobby both whined, but hey, it's first come first serve. I literally scarfed down my entire bowl in three minutes so I could meet up with my neighbor, Percy. He and I were going to the same school, Goode, so he would show me the way.

Knock, knock. Some knocked quietly at the door, but I heard it anyways.

"I'll get it!" I said in a slightly shrill voice. "Coming!" I opened the door to find Percy waiting patiently. I waved goodbye to my family and I grabbed my grey backback from a nearby shelf. It was a stormy color and I had sewed numerous decorations and buttons on it. In the center, there is a snowy owl with brown button eyes. I slipped on some high-tops and walked out the door.

Percy was wearing red jeans and converse, with an ironed off-white dress shirt. In my opinion, he was overly dressed; who wears that kind of stuff to school? He looked pretty gay, but I didn't tell him.

"Long time no see, sexy," he said, making small talk in his own special way. "What happened to your hair?"

I laughed at his attempt to sound suggestive. "Yep. I'm officially a brunette now!"

"Aw, but I miss messing up your princess curls, you dumb blonde," he whined.

"That's not very nice, Blackie, so shut up."

Percy is the most interesting person I know. He's strange in a good way, and a total geek. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a target for bullies at school, but he actually enjoys sexual jokes and dirty humor as much as I do; that's why we became friends through Thalia. Thalia was my best friend when I lived in California. Apparently, she was Percy's cousin and I met him at her last birthday party. We hit it off that night but never really kept in touch. I was pretty shocked when I realized I would be going to the same high school as him when I moved to New York.

"One question, Perce. And it's pretty deep, too. Are you gay?"

Percy stared at me for a long time before putting his hands on my shoulders. It was pretty intense. His sea green eyes resembled the ocean: beautiful, but haunting. Wait, did I call his eyes beautiful? Because he's anything _but_ that. Don't get me wrong; he is hot in his own gay way, but I have a major crush on this guy named Luke from my old school.

"You know, I haven't told anyone anything about my sexuality because it is very private. But since you asked me…I'M STRAIGHT!" he replied. Then, he picked off an imaginary piece of lint on his shoulder and told me off for being homophobic.

"Ha-ha, okay. But dude, I never said I was against gay people," I said when he was finished. "You know, I love your pants. They really bring out your hourglass figure."

"Gee, thanks?"

"No problem, you sexy manwhore.

"I'm a manwhore? You're the one showing off your boobs to strangers on the street! But hey, they're mighty fine," he says, while winking like he had a severe eye twitch. I had to laugh. He sounded like some retarded cowboy trying to pass for…someone else. Let's just stick to someone else since I don't want to be stereotypical, now.

"Thanks, but they're not as fine as your ass, baby. I would happily squeeze those butt cheeks."

He looked pretty surprised when I said I'd squeeze his ass, but he played along. "Babe, you're 15 and you're already pimpin'," he said in a fake-seductive voice. And the rest of the walk to school continued like that.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, we were at the school's main office. I walked through the main door and knocked on the secretary's office. Someone motioned for me to come in. "Excuse me, miss, but would you happen to have my schedule? I'm Annabeth Chase, the new girl from California." Percy stood beside me and started to stare intently at the cuckoo clock. I poked him and he just shrugged.

"One minute, sweetheart, it's right here," said the secretary. She was a round lady, with bleach-blonde (obviously dyed) hair and a few wrinkles on her forehead. She rummaged through a cabinet and she didn't appear to know what she was doing. I tapped my foot silently and crossed my arms. ADHD tends to make me agitated easily; take this scenario, for instance.

I pushed Percy just to get a kick out of him. "Hey, what was that for?" he said, obviously annoyed.

"Oh nothing, I'm just bored."

I looked away to see the lady holding my new schedule, but in that one second, Percy yanked my hair back.

"OWW, you bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you?" I almost screamed. I get really pissed when people try to do that; my long hair is almost always a target.

"Excuse me, Ms. Chase. Here's your timetable for Semester 1. And watch your language, please," she said with evident distaste. Percy just out his tongue at me. I returned his kind gesture with a sinister grin; I will get him back later. I sighed and thanked her before walking out the office to my homeroom: Room 117. But I realized that I needed Percy's help to get to homeroom because I have no idea how to get around inside the school.

"Annabeth, what homeroom are you in?" asked Percy. "117, apparently. Hopefully, it's close to yours," I replied. He looked over at the sheet of paper I was holding and scanned my courses. "Actually, your homeroom's across from mine. 107. I'll take you there, but first, let's compare schedules."

He bent over to take his schedule out of his backpack and I looked over my classes and noticed that homeroom was first everyday.

Monday: Greek Mythology, Physics, AP Math, Biology, Lunch, Study Hall, P.E., English

Tuesday: P.E., AP Architecture, AP Math, French, Lunch, Chemistry, Double Greek Mythology

Wednesday: Physics, English, AP Math, Lunch, P.E., French, Biology, Physics

Thursday: AP Math, Chemistry, Drama, Study Hall, Lunch, French, English, Biology

Friday: English, Drama, Chemistry, Lunch, Greek Mythology, Double AP Math, AP Architecture

Not a bad term, except for all the math. I mean, I have math every single day, and for two periods on Friday. At least each class was only 40 minutes long with 5 minute breaks in between. Except for periods four and five, which I guessed was when everyone had either lunch or some type of class. The two periods were an hour each. I also had AP Archeticure, but only twice weekly, which was better than nothing at all.

I looked over Percy's shoulder at his schedule. His schedule was a mess; it was crumple and crinkled with too many colors high-lighting each class.

"Hey Annie, we have Greek Mythology, Study Hall, French, and Lunch together! Wait, and Biology too!" he exclaimed happily.

"Yay!" I half-shouted in a girly voice. A bunch of students turned to look at me with raised eyebrows. "What are you looking at?" I said back to them. "And DON'T call me Annie," I said to Percy. Percy grabbed my arm towards what must be my homeroom. "Come on, Annie, let's get to homeroom!" he said. "Bastard," I grumbled. I trudged behind Percy reluctantly and kept walking.


	2. Moving Day

_I realize that Percy and Annabeth are OOC, but that's the point for the story. Their personalities will change soon, however, they still will be OOC. Other characters coming soon. Thanks for all the subscriptions and don't forget to review!_

**Percy's POV **(Half a year later)

I made my way to the cafeteria hoping to finish my Greek essay. Greek Mythology is my favorite class because the teacher, Mr. Brunner, understands how difficult it is for me to read and write. Dyslexia made it exceptionally challenging when it came to reading and writing. Plus, ADHD made me extra fidgety in class; I usually click my pen continuously or tap my foot non-stop.

I reached the lunch line to buy some salad and a bottle of antioxidant juice. I neatly placed the cheap, plastic utensils on either side of the light blue food tray and carefully picked up a bowl of Caesar salad. I looked at the people standing in front of me; it was the popular group. The people in their exclusive circle included Nancy and her boyfriend, Courtney, Alicia, Rachel, Austin and Sean. And Rachel, too. Rachel looked at me, so I waved to her, but she just pretended that she didn't see me. I guessed she wasn't supposed to talk to anyone outside her circle of friends. I sighed and went back to staring at my lunch and waiting for my turn to pay at the cashier.

You see, Rachel and I used to be best friends. Until last year, anyways. She used to be a nice person and she was an art fanatic; she wore paint-splotched clothes and always carried her sketchpad with her. Then, her father's media company hit the jackpot, which meant that she got a brand new designer wardrobe and nose job. Now, Rachel was your typical Barbie girl, except that she had flaming red hair.

"That'll be five dollars, laddie," said the lunchlady. Her name was Mrs. Cox, I think; she had a very strong Scottish accent. I gave her a bill and made my way across the cafeteria to the table in the far left corner, near the entrance to the auditorium. Annabeth was already there, reading a book. She turned around to look at me and motioned for me to join her, so I did.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain, what are you drinking? Did you sneak in something?" she asked while inspecting my juice. "For your information, Wise Girl, that juice contains many antioxidants, which contribute to youthful skin and cleaning out your body…I think," I replied. I took back my juice and started to drink it.

We ate quietly in peace until Annabeth started talking. "Percy, I have something really important to tell you." I stopped chewing on my lettuce and looked up from my lunch to meet her eyes. Her grey eyes were unreadable and she had her poker face on. I grew a little uncomfortable so I broke the silence and asked hesitantly, "What is it?" I drank some more juice and she wavered before speaking again. "Percy, we're best friends, right? And best friends tell each other everything, don't they?" she questioned. Her eyes darted all around the cafeteria, never landing on me.

I became happier all of a sudden because she said that we were best friends, though. I've never had a best friend, except maybe Rachel Elizabeth Dare before she became popular. I was considered a bit of a loser at school, so I never made that many friends. However, I was very close with my cousins Thalia and Nico and my childhood friend, Grover. I smiled and replied immediately, "Well, duh. Of course they do!" I smiled at Annabeth and started nibbling at my salad. Annabeth smiled weakly after I spoke and she looked up to meet my gaze.

"Percy, I'm moving."

That definitely took me by surprise, because she just moved here half a year ago. I mean, why would someone transfer in the middle of the year just to leave before the year even ended? I knew her dad travelled all the time for his business, but this didn't make sense. Most importantly, she was my best friend! I stared at her for about a minute before speaking. "When?"

Annabeth picked at her food and tapped her foot. She had ADHD too. "Remember the reason I moved to New York?" she asked. I nodded quickly and motioned for her to continue the story. I was anxious to know why _my_ best friend had to leave. "My dad got transferred from his mechanics firm in California to here. But now, they need him back to finish their latest project on some airplane or other shit, so we need to move. He really wants to be a part of this project because he might finally get promoted, which means we can save up money for my college tuition."

Oh, so that's why. I guess it made sense, seeing as her dad wanted her to focus on her studies instead of taking up a part time job. This way, he would be able to help Annabeth pay her fees in a few years. But I couldn't shake away the feeling of jealousy. Jealousy? Jealousy of what? I should be happy for her. She's getting an excellent opportunity her (her dad is, anyways) and I just want to keep her to myself so I won't be a loner. I'm pathetic.

I clapped numbly and forced a crooked grin. "Great for you! I hope you have fun!" I exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. If I do say so myself, I sounded quite convincing. I could become an actor! Annabeth had different thoughts though, as usual.

"Percy, are you sure you're okay with this? You sound a little weird, you know," she half-whispered. Her straight, brown bangs parted a little from the side, so she shook her head in an attempt to move them to the side again. She failed.

I looked away for a while and chose my words carefully. Wouldn't want her to think I'm some sappy loser, now, wouldn't I? "I guess I'm not okay with you moving, but hey, we can call each other whenever, right?" I asked.

She just smiled and said, "Mais oui." _(Mais ouis: of course/but yes in French)_

* * *

**Annabeth's POV **(Moving Day)

I took a mental picture of my tiny, cell-hole of a room. The walls were bare and the room was empty of furniture. My once dusty chamber was now completely spotless; there wasn't a speck of dust in sight. I took my time wandering around before leaving my room (of six months) for good and slamming the door loudly. I guess I was sad to leave, but I was really looking forward to seeing Thalia again. Plus, I wanted to know what I missed at Pacific High School back home.

I made my way out of the apartment and took the elevator downstairs. I pressed all of the buttons just to waste some time. At one point, an elderly lady wearing pink stepped in, glaring at me when she saw all of the buttons lit up. I just gave her a sweet smile and started to play on my phone. Level 4, level 3, level 2, level 1…ding! The doors opened slowly and I skipped out to the lobby.

Waiting for me was the rest of my family…and Percy. I didn't expect him to come today, but I figured he wanted to say goodbye one last time. Picking up the pace, I jogged towards the moving van. "Annabeth! We're going to miss our flight! Hurry!" cried my father. He motioned for me to get into the taxi, but I spun around for no reason, then replied hastily, "Wait, just give me a few minutes with Percy." My stepmother gave me a quick nod before joining the rest of my family in the taxi behind the moving truck. I turned to my right and faced Percy for the last time.

"Hey sexy."

"Well, if it isn't Ms. I'm going to abandon my best friend forever and move to California."

"Well, if that's the way you want to put it, then fine. I guess I'll just leave."

I started retreating and walking towards the cab, but Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Hey Annabeth?"

I looked at him. This was practically the first time he's ever used my name. We usually went by names like "babe", or "sexy".

"What, Percy?"

"Don't forget about me."

With that, he kissed me on the cheek. Except I craned my neck to see if the cab was leaving or something, and his lips pressed against mine instead.

We both backed away, as red as tomatoes, and I ran back to my family crying out "Bye!" as he disappeared into the distance. F**k! What did I do? I just screwed up an innocent friendship kiss! Now it's going to be really awkward! But wait. I'll be in California tomorrow. Good thing the moving truck was blocking my family's view of me and Percy.


	3. Welcome to West Lake

West Lake isn't real, but trust me, I wish it were. I don't own PJATO. Review!

**Annabeth's POV **

I read the instructions on my welcome letter again. I was supposed to go to Apartment C, Dorm 217. All of the buildings looked the same: modern and small with about four rooms on each level. The outside was built with red brick and there were several large windows on each floor.

I was starting college at West Lake, a fairly large school just west of Manhattan in a suburb of the same name. I had chosen to come here because Thalia begged me to. But, it wasn't like I didn't have any other options. West Lake was actually a very prestigious college with limited enrollment in its architectural sector. I had finally agreed with my best friend three weeks after receiving my acceptance letter.

I checked my appearance on my phone camera. My blond curls were slightly brown-tinted from some hair dye a few years back. I can't believe I had dyed my hair (and straightened it, too!). I was such an idiot, skipping classes and hanging out with weirdoes with no clue of what to do with their lives. I did have a friend back then, though: Percy. When I left New York, we never spoke again. I think it was mainly because he kissed me right before I headed to the airport. Things were pretty awkward, but I still remember his deep, sea green eyes. They seemed to change colour depending on his mood; I could stare into them all day, drowning in the ocean's waves.

And then I became popular again, along with my best friend Thalia Grace. We spent senior year partying and working hard at the same time. Thalia became famous in our school because of her band, the Hunters. They were a group of single girls with a passion for heavy-metal music. I had dated a few guys here and there, but one boy stood out significantly: Luke.

Luke and I hit it off at a party thrown by Nico di Angelo, the school's biggest bad boy. We had made out wildly on the dance floor, drunk like there was no tomorrow. I never meant to drink _that_ much, but I was pressured into doing it. When you're popular, everyone else's opinions seemed to always be more important than your own. This year, I vowed to change that and pave my way through college. Luke was actually an excellent boyfriend, but we had broken it off before parting our separate ways after graduation. He would be going to some college in Canada and staying with some of his cousins. I had tried to persuade him to go to school in New York, or at least in the States, but he insisted on leaving for the north.

I turned my attention back to my new dorm. Taped to the front door was a letter addressed to my soon-to-be dorm mates and me. There was a little welcome notice at the top followed by instructions that I was supposed to follow. Furniture wasn't supplied. There would be a kitchen and a dining room, 2 bedrooms with in-room dividers, and a living room. Not too shabby in my opinion, but there could've been more rooms.

My eyes scanned the paper for the names of the people I would be living with, but found none. I shrugged and punched the room's combo into the lock and walked inside. _Seventy-nine, eighty-five_. "...Yea, so maybe, uh, you could share with the other person?" said a squeaky male's voice. "Dude, I thought we were rooming together!" replied a more masculine voice from the other side of the living room. The first male spoke again, "Well, I'm staying with Juni! I can't just leave her alone, can I?"

I grabbed my bags and walked into the kitchen. "Oh, sorry to interrupt, but I'm pretty sure I'm your new roommate," I said uncertainly. One of them turned around to face me. He had curly brown hair and hazel eyes framed with bushy eyebrows. His face was slightly blemished. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, we were just discussing who we'd be rooming with…"

"Haha, that's perfectly fine. I'm Anna, by the way." I stuck out my hand and he gave me a feeble handshake. "My name is Grover. And this over here is PJ," he replied. I noticed for the first time another person in the same room. He was sitting on his sofa. Well, I assumed that the sea green sofa belonged to him as furniture wasn't supposed to be supplied. Grover motioned for him to greet me and he yawned before slowly making his way over towards us. "Coming, coming!" he said.

I took a proper look at him and immediately felt a jolt. He was so familiar, yet I couldn't pinpoint where I had seen him before. His hair was black and unruly, as if he had just gotten out of bed. He was muscular, but not overly bulky. His arms were toned, and I could tell that he was an athletic person. His skin was vaguely tanned from exposure to the sun. Around his neck, he wore a shark tooth necklace. It was identical to the one that I bought on a school trip a few years ago. I was at some aquarium in New York with the rest of my class. I refocused my attention to the unnamed male. My inner voice told me to stop looking at him.

_Stop checking him out. _

I wasn't checking him out!

_He's not your type. _

I never even said that he was hot. I mean, he is good looking, but…

_But, you already have Luke…well, not anymore. _

Gee, thanks.

While I continued to argue with myself, the boy returned my gaze. His eyes were a vivid, mysterious green. Cheerful and good-natured, but they showed a hint of sarcasm. Now, he was watching me. His eyes looked me up and down. He seemed to be analyzing me, trying to remember who I was. As if. How would some stranger recognize me? I wasn't the type of person that was able to turn heads around like Thalia. Her black hair and electric blue eyes were far more impressive than my blond hair and stormy grey eyes.

I decided to break the surprisingly comfortable silence. I meant to introduce myself, but somehow, it came out like this instead: "Stop staring. You're going to catch flies in your mouth." I realized my mistake too late and turned a pale shade of red. The stranger also blushed discreetly and he returned to staring at his feet. "My name's PJ. And you're Anna, right?" he asked timidly. I nodded a reply and shook his hand firmly. When our fingers touched, I swear I felt a shock of electricity. It was gone just as fast as it came, but it was definitely there. Weird. These things weren't supposed to happen to Annabeth Chase.

"Well, I guess I'll let you two lovebirds have some fun on your own. You guys will have to share because I'm rooming with Juniper. If you need me, I'll be in the room over there," said Grover, pointing to a room across the hall. Both PJ and fumbled uneasily when he called us 'lovebirds'. I started to complain, but Grover trotted over to his room and shut the door before I could respond, probably to unpack his belongings. I turned around to face PJ, who was lazily staring at the ceiling. I figured that it was no use disputing with Grover. Who knows, rooming with PJ might not even be half bad. "Come on PJ, let's go to our room to unpack. We have a lot of work to do," I said. I scanned my bags and immediately felt burdened and exhausted. "Ugh, do we have to? We can just hang around for a while then unload when Grover and Juniper are done. That way, they can help us," exclaimed PJ. I questioned this boy's logic. My motto was: the sooner you finish work, the sooner you can start to play. When I say play, I mean having fun and relaxing, perhaps drinking a cup of tea. Unfortunately, PJ did his puppy dog impression and I had to give in.

"Fine, we can do that later. But you're carrying all of my bags," I said smugly. PJ's face suddenly drooped. He started to whine about how girls never pack light. I grinned while he continued to drone on and on. I was starting to like him. Not _like_ like, of course. I _like_ liked Luke, and look where that left me.

"So Anna, tell me about yourself. What are you taking?" asked PJ. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what I had to say, unlike many other guys I've encountered. I've always wanted to be the CEO of my own architectural firm. "Well, I want to major in architecture and minor in foreign languages. And perhaps take a few math courses during the summertime," I replied. He smiled a lopsided smile. "Nerd," he countered. We both laughed out loud at his 'oh-so-witty' remark about my choice in classes. "You know what, Anna? You're too wise. Wise Girl," said PJ. I squinted at him and my eyebrows furrowed. I'm almost one hundred percent sure that he just gave me a nickname, even though we had met only half an hour ago. "What did you just call me?" I questioned. He shrugged his shoulders and plopped back onto the couch. "I called you a Wise Girl, because you seem to know everything." He smiled as if he actually knew what he was doing.

I thought about the nickname. Wise Girl. Huh, it had a nice ring to it. I guess it wasn't too horrible; after all, I could be branded as a 'smart aleck'. That has already happened a few times, but I wasn't going to let that happen again this year.

"Seaweed Brain."

PJ looked towards me with a puzzled expression on his face. I giggled, and his lips started to curl into a grin. "Seaweed Brain? Is that the best you've got?" he taunted. I stuck out my tongue at him and took a seat opposite him on a chair.

"It's the best nickname I've come up with in a while, so deal with it," I retorted. PJ was fiddling around with his fingers and tapping his toes simultaneously. He seemed to be occupied all the time, just like me. I have ADHD, so I could never really stop moving.

Of course, he had to interrupt my thoughts again. "Hey Wise Girl. Wait, I meant Anna. Or Wise Girl. Or whatever," he called. His cheeks started to color and I laughed at his stupidity. "Yes, Seaweed Brain, my name is Anna," I chuckled. "_Or Wise Girl!_" I mimicked him in a high-pitched voice. He laughed along with me before continuing to speak.

"You know, you remind me of someone I used to know," he told me. PJ's eyes suddenly seemed distant, like he was reliving the past. His lips twitched and he shook his head before returning his attention towards me. "I once knew this amazing girl who lived across the hall from my apartment. I wasn't exceptionally popular at school, but she always stood up for me. She was pretty, funny, but most importantly, she was my best friend. One day, she moved away to California and I never saw her again. But I really missed her all these years."

My eyes were about to burst out of their sockets.

"Percy?"


	4. Barbecue Time

The reviews encourage me to update more often. Keep in mind that constructive criticism is any author's best friend!

**Percy's POV**

The water poured over my head and trickled down my back. The last of the shampoo circled down the drain and I reached over to turn off the water. I stepped out onto my fluffy, green carpet and I dried my hair, wiped my body, and tied the towel around my waist. Ah, how I loved showering with myself. Wait, that sounded wrong.

I thought about Annabeth for the first time since our last encounter. She was blonde again. She had grown into a mature young woman, someone my mother would approve of. She was polite, but she had a sense of humor as well. Four years ago, Annabeth was an outcast's best friend. Now, she was a beautiful girl that guys would want to date and that girls would be jealous of.

_Stop daydreaming._

I'm not daydreaming! I'm just thinking about an old friend. My best friend, actually.

_Sure, whatever._

I ignored the annoying voice inside my head and headed out the door. After realizing that Anna was indeed my old friend, we caught up on the last few years. Appparently, she had decided to attend West Lake due to some excessive peer pressure from Thalia, my cousin. I would have to thank her later for making Annabeth come to this school. Without her, I probably would've never seen Annabeth again.

However, Grover had to interrupt our conversation with some news concerning the rooms. I had no problem sharing with Annabeth, since we used to be best friends. Until I accidentally kissed her, that is. I hadn't meant to kiss my best friend, but it happened anyways. And thinking about it, I didn't mind giving her a peck on the lips. It felt natural, as if we were dating or something.

_You have a crush! You have a C-R-U-_

Shush! I don't like Annabeth!

My stupid inner voice just wouldn't stop talking. But I started to have second thoughts about my feelings for Annabeth. She was extremely pretty, maybe even beautiful. She had turned out to be an amazing person. I was definitely comfortable around her, but she was like my own sister. I could never date my sister; that would just be weird. Incest breeding much?

I sighed and reached over to grab my shirt from the nearby chair. I do have some pretty strange thoughts sometimes. We had unpacked just over an hour ago and trust me, it was not pleasant. Annabeth and I had a stupid disagreement over the arrangement of the furniture in our room. You see, Grover abandoned me to room with his girlfriend Juniper Verte. Juniper was really nice; she had long, flowing brown hair and perky green eyes, a few shades lighter than my own. Her father was a french banker. Still, Juniper was the reason why I was stuck rooming with Annabeth. It wasn't too bad at the beginning until she decided to go all 'clean-freak' on me. Her bed was in the right corner. Mine was in the left corner. The room divider split the dorm into two exact halves, each painted their own color. I had full usage of the bathroom for half an hour in the morning and in the evening, just like Annabeth. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to use the only cabinet we found in the apartment because she needed it for 'private matters'. Typical girls.

I struggled to put on my shirt with one hand as I was using the other to find some clean underwear. I managed to successfully dress myself for dinner in a record time of twenty-three seconds. I glanced over my mirror for a better look at the clock; it was only 6:00 pm. This meant that I had another fifteen minutes before leaving for the annual welcome-back barbecue by the lake. I was looking forward to meeting some new people and hopefully catching up a little more with Annabeth. I wondered if she was still interested in architecture and mathematics, just like my obsession with swimming.

I recalled a much younger Annabeth with straight, brown hair tied in a high ponytail wearing tight clothes and leather high-tops. She was definitely a different person back then. Annabeth used to be a chatty and daring teenager with a mouth that could curse like a trucker. She was like a clone of Thalia. I was intimidated by her appearance when I first met her at Thalia's birthday party, but I soon discovered that her appearance was a mere façade to disguise her low self-esteem. I have to say, I like her new style better. It suited her genuine personality and not the forged one that she had created during high school. Now, she wore girly but not uncomfortable clothing that accented her intelligence and showed off her body. Yes, I have checked her out. But no, I don't like her. I just sometimes (I mean always) check out girls. Hey, I'm just a hormonal teenage guy.

I sighed and rolled over onto my bed. The plush, blue sheets were lightly scented with detergent. I was ready to tuck myself in for bed, but I realized that I would have to depart soon. I wondered what Annabeth was doing. She was supposed to be preparing for the barbecue with Thalia, who lived one building away from us to the left side. I could never understand girls. They did everything together, from going to the bathroom to dressing up for parties. For me, it was all a huge waste of time.

* * *

"Hey man, how's it going?" asked Grover as he shoved a burger into my hands. I took a bite and replied, "Nothing much. Have you seen Annabeth?" He nodded his head and pointed to some benches where a lot of freshmen were eating and meeting new friends. I spotted Annabeth's blond princess curls at the centre of the crowd. She was eating her hot dog and talking to a few people that I assumed were some other freshmen.

I made my way over towards their group, but someone caught my arm and dragged me backwards. I turned around to see who had attacked me. I gasped in surprise because I'd recognize her straight, choppy black hair anywhere. "Thalia!" I exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here?" She chuckled as we hugged. "Well, didn't anyone tell you that I'm a student here as well?" I shook my head in reply and she motioned for me to join her at the benches, which was where I was heading before she interrupted. Stupid Pinecone Face.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain!" called Annabeth. She waved her hand at me and I grinned. She patted an empty seat next to her and I sat down at their table. We hugged and she began to introduce me to the other people who were seated. "Of course, you already know Thalia and Nico," she said. I looked over to my cousins and they mumbled something that sounded like 'hey'. I laughed inside at the ignorance of my own family. As I have said before, Stupid Pinecone Face. Oh, and Stupid Death Breath too.

Annabeth continued to tell me the names of each person that had gathered around. There were the two Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, a buff African-American named Beckendorf and his girlfriend Silena and a Hispanic guy called Chris. There was also a brown-haired girl named Katie and a tough girl called Clarisse. I greeted each one of them as they welcomed me to their little circle. We chatted for a while about numerous topics varying from sports to classes to gossip. Annabeth and I talked about other things as the rest of the group carried on the conversation.

"Hey, I've got more enchiladas to share!" piped an excited Grover. He walked over towards us carrying a large box containing enough enchiladas to feed at least twenty people. The guys, excluding me, dug in right away as the girls hesitate before joining in.

"So Seaweed Brain, how are you liking West Lake so far?" asked Annabeth. I thought about it for a while before answering. "It's pretty good, I guess. We get to share a room, so it'll definitely be fun," I responded. She laughed and petted my head like a dog. I barked, which lead to more laughter from the both of us. I almost dropped my burger but fortunately, I managed to save the precious dinner. I suddenly had the urge to tickle Annabeth, but someone spoke up before I had the chance to. "Annabeth and Percy, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N…" The unnamed person didn't get a chance to finish because the table roared with cheers and amusement. Both Annabth and I turned crimson and stopped what we were doing to stare at the ground. I tried to defend myself, but it was no use. I looked around the barbecue for an escape. I didn't see anyone that I recognized, except…

"Rachel! Rachel Elizabeth Dare! Hey!" I called towards my ex-girlfriend of two years. I know, it's pretty weird that I was talking to my ex like we were best friends. We had dated in high school for a year when she started school at Goode. Things were a bit rocky towards the end of our relationship, which was the summer before senior year. We ended it in September. After we separated, Rachel and I remained good friends, which was why I called over to her. I wasn't surprised to see her here as she had told me at the beginning of the summer that she would be attending West Lake.

Rachel greeted me with similar enthusiam and rushed over to give me a hug. Her flaming red hair was as firey as ever and her emerald green eyes stood out against her pale, freckled skin. She smiled and introduced me to a guy that I have seen before. "Percy, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Luke," she said. I met the stranger's eyes and cheerfully shook his hand. He had a very firm grip and I tried to mask my cringe. Luke had straw blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was built, but the only thing that set off his otherwise attractive appearance (don't worry, I'm not gay) was a scar along his cheek. He acknowledged me curtly with a smirk on his face. "It's nice to finally meet my Rachel's ex," he replied. I half-glared at Luke, who didn't even bother to hide his arrogance. What a jerk. I knew at that moment that Luke and I would never become friends. "I guess I'll be seeing you two around, 'cause I've got to head back to Annabeth," I said.

When I said Annabeth, Rachel immediately perked up. I couldn't help but notice that Luke's bright eyes rapidly darkened to a deep, furious shade of anger. "Wait, do you mean that by Annabeth Chase?" asked Rachel. I nodded in spite of my confusion. Was it possible that the two girls already knew each other? I guess it's a small world after all. Just like the Disney song! _Shut up, Percy._

"Oh, let's go see her!" exclaimed Rachel. I obliged instantly, but Luke tried to steer her away from seeing Annabeth. This guys had some serious problems. "Rachel, I don't think that now is the best time to see Annie, I mean, Annabeth. I'm getting tired," said Luke. His eyes darted around the clearing, searching for someone. I looked at him suspiciously but he wouldn't meet my gaze. Rachel wasn't about to give up so quickly, though. She tugged on his arm and used her invincible 'Rachel-charm' until he finally agreed to tag along. I led the both of them back to Annabeth's table as soon as Luke approved.

I wondered why Luke didn't want to meet Annabeth. He was even about to call her a nickname that she used to accept before…well, before she grew up. Annie? Maybe they knew each other as well. Either way, I got the feeling that Luke was afraid of Annabeth.

As soon as I reached the group, Annabeth craned her neck to take a look at the newcomers. She smiled when she realized that it was just me. But her face lit up instantaneously when she saw Rachel. "Rachel!" she cried as she ran up to give her a huge hug. I wished she had greeted me that way. Wait, what?

"Annabeth! It's been so long! You weren't at camp this summer," said Rachel as she hugged Annabeth. The two girls exchanged a few more words before Annabeth realized that there was a third person. Her focus darted towards Luke, who hid his face in his own shadows. Annabeth's head jerked up when she saw his scar. Her lips formed a small circle as she gasped.

"Luke?"


	5. The Confession

Mission: write stories that are worthy of fan fiction. Remember, constructive criticism is an author's best friend!

**Annabeth's POV**

I studied the stranger who seemed all too familiar. He had an athletic build, light blonde hair and broad shoulders. His navy shirt showed off his arm muscles. In fact, he looked identical to Luke Castellan. Wait a second. No, it couldn't be. Or could it? This guy could be his clone, for all I knew. He turned his head when I tried to look at him and he took to staring at the ground instead. What a coward! What did he have to hide from me, anyways?

I decided to bend slightly downwards to take a better look at his face.

This wasn't too difficult as he was a good four inches taller than me. His eyes were a stunning sapphire, the same shade as a tropical lagoon. Now, I knew for sure.

"Luke?" I asked. When I said his name, it sounded more like a question than a demand. I remained serious and my face expressed no emotion. He gazed at me uneasily and waved with his right hand, saying, "Hey, Annie." I glared back and warned him not to use my nickname. He lost that privilege a few minutes ago when he turned up at _my_ college with a _girlfriend_ that was certainly not me.

Before summer vacation, Luke had told me that he was leaving for his dream school in Canada. Yeah, right. I was heartbroken at the time, believing that I was the reason for his sudden departure. Had I done something wrong? Now, it was clear that he had lied to me about his choice in education. And what about his new girlfriend? She happened to be one of my closest friends whom I met at a summer arts camp in Soho. Rachel didn't even tell me that they started dating! But then again, she never knew about Luke and I, so she had no reason to bring up the subject.

Luke muddled unconsciously as I spied Rachel and Percy slowly retreating towards the table from the corner of my eye. They decided to give us some personal space, not wanting to get caught up in the nearing hurricane. I faced Luke and I knew that my eyes were starting to dampen. I blinked continuously while forcing my pupils upwards to avoid the tears that threatened to spill. _Take a deep breath, Annabeth, you've got this._

"Luke, why are you here?" I asked indifferently. I crossed my arms and ignored the fact that everyone surrounding us had started to stare. While the rest of the students enjoyed the fresh burgers, my friends started to whisper quietly.

Luke blinked twice, as if he had not heard the question properly. Was he deaf or something? I knew that he was in a bad position right now; it was evident that he had not only lied to me about moving to Canada, but he had also started seeing someone new without telling me beforehand. I couldn't feel sorry for Luke, though. If this were a lawsuit, he would've been declared guilty by the judge already.

"Annabeth, can we talk somewhere else? Maybe somewhere more private?" asked Luke while nervously tapping his foot. He was right this time, as people had stopped chewing to tune in on our banter. I didn't want a new reputation as the school's dramaqueen. I nodded my consent and lead him towards a mature willow tree far away from the lake.

Once we were out of hearing range from the rest of the student body, I started to sob quietly. "Luke, how could you do this to me?" I asked. My head was spinning in endless circles and my body felt heavier than lead. I kept repeating the same question over and over again to myself. Why? Why? Why would he do this to me?

Luke shook his head regretfully and put his hand on my bare shoulder. I expected to feel a spark of electricity, but all the magic that we once shared had disappeared. I gently removed his hand and crossed my arms, waiting for his reply.

"Annabeth, remember that week when you were visiting your aunt in Detroit?" he questioned. I muttered something that sounded like 'yes' and motioned for him to continue. "Well, I was in New York and I met…Rachel."

Silence followed his confession. I wanted to feel angry because Luke had betrayed me, but a voice in my head told me that he wasn't worth it. Still, the fact that he had technically cheated on me threatened to crumble my heart into pieces.

Luke continued his story, never glancing at me once. His words seemed to blur into a rehearsed speech that my old English teacher would've given. "I met Rachel at the workshop, and we hit it off immediately. We were just friends, you know. Uh, just friends. We had this special connection right away. But then, Casper threw this huge party at his dad's house. I had to go, and Rachel went as well. That's when we started…dating? Well, it was only one week before summer, so I planned on breaking up with you then…but the time was never right. I figured that I'd lie about Canada since I never told you about my late scholarship to NYU."

I couldn't believe it. Luke had the nerve to cheat on me while we were still dating, but he even lied to me about his college! Granted, he did break up with me, but that didn't give him the right to be dishonest about moving to Canada. And he didn't even look guilty. I even thought that I-no, no I didn't. I didn't love him anymore.

I smiled to myself as if this were all a big joke. I knew it wasn't, but I wasn't laughing about that. I surprised myself by not having any feelings towards my jerk of an ex-boyfriend at all. Ha-ha, the irony. Percy's ex is the girlfriend of my ex. Before you know it, Percy and I will be dating! _Wait a second. What? _Like that'll ever happen. He isn't even good looking.

Luke looked at me expectantly but I had nothing to say. Nothing to say to his face, at least. Instead, I grinned a little too forcefully and congratulated him on his new relationship. I even said that we should remain friends, even though we probably wouldn't.

"See you around, Luke," I said while stomping away quickly. He waved disappointedly and headed off in the other direction. I buried my face and my hands and cursed myself for being so stupid. My suspicions were confirmed too late. I should've known that he was seeing someone else. He even got a text that day saying 'Hey, babe!' and it was definitely not from me. I grumbled in frustration and sat down by the water. I attempted to clear my mind of all negative thoughts, but I was quite the pessimist.

Annabeth Chase wasn't the type of girl to sob her heart out a breakup. Sure, she was emotional at first (any girl would be!), but she didn't remain that way for long. I promised myself to never devote myself to a man in such a way and I wasn't planning on breaking that promise. I was more disappointed in myself than I was in Luke. Luke could date whomever he wanted to; I didn't care anymore. I figured that it was time for me to get a move on and start dating again. Little did I know that my first true love would have beautiful green eyes…


End file.
